US State Department ommission of Kurdish fighters in victory against IS concerning :Peshmerga Ministry

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Peshmerga Ministry has concerns regarding the US State Department's recent statement on the victory over the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, which failed to mention the role of the Peshmerga who fought alongside the Iraqi forces, according to a Kurdish official on Sunday.

As Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the end of the fight against IS on Saturday, he refused to acknowledge the Peshmerga Forces in his speech. The omission created a backlash in the Kurdistan Region with the Ministry of Peshmerga issuing a statement condemning the recognition of individual branches of the Iraqi security apparatus but not of the allied Kurdish Forces.

The US State Department released a statement offering congratulations “to the Iraqi people and to the brave Iraqi Security Forces.” The statement also failed to acknowledge the role of the Peshmerga forces who have fought against IS since 2014, with some 1,800 paying the ultimate price and over 10,000 more injured in the war.

“As Peshmerga, we are concerned about the US State Department for omitting the role of [our forces] in the victory over IS in Iraq. The State Department could have jointly released a statement on the success of the war with the Pentagon,” Halgurd Hikmat, the Peshmerga Ministry's Spokesperson, told Kurdistan 24.

He noted that the State Department might be attempting to remain diplomatic in this regard, reaffirming with Iraq its commitment to the framework of a sovereign and independent state, but that the Pentagon has always acknowledged the role of the Peshmerga.

The US State Department and Pentagon are different in how they treat and recognize the role of the Peshmerga, according to Hikmat, who pointed out the Pentagon pushed for the additional allocation of military support to the Peshmerga for 2018.

“The Peshmerga are a partner of the Global Coalition to Defeat IS, not within the Iraqi forces. Hence, their role cannot be neglected.”

Hikmat added that neither Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi nor any other Iraqi officials could ignore the Peshmerga’s role.

“The role the Peshmerga played in the past four years has become internationally recognized by world leaders. Furthermore, the Peshmerga symbolically became the defenders of humanity all around the world. Lastly, the Peshmerga's braves sacrifices led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pentagon. These are some of the examples that define the Peshmerga’s significant role.”

He noted that if an official in Baghdad ignores the role of the Peshmerga, “it would be a disservice to himself.”

Hikmat expressed his strong concern toward Abadi’s victory speech, which was meant to be delivered as the Premier of all of Iraq, not a few of its components.

“It is disconcerting to see the Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, ignore the role of the Peshmerga: a constitutional force and part of Iraqi Defense body,” he concluded.

Editing by Nadia Riva